What the Future Holds
by Chuwei
Summary: Centered on Hayate,Genma,Special Jounins,ChuuninExaminers. Lots of trying to restore the past, searching for what is lost, hoping for the future, dealing with grief & finding the strength to go on, even when the weight of the dead is still on your heart.
1. Rooftop Repose

_A/N: This was...unexpected. That's all I can say. _

**SPOILER ALERT:** If you're not finished with the Chuunin Exam, this story will spoil a lot of deaths for you. Well, not a LOT I guess. Just two. But two can make all the difference. 

The sky was getting dark. 

So were the thoughts that were going through the mind of a dark-clad man sitting on the rooftop of an old apartment building, his hands resting on the broken vermillion tiles. 

The sun was setting behind the looming mountains nearby, casting a long shadow over the scattered buildings and homes in the area, and throwing faint golden rays of waning light over the man's pale face. The dying light transformed the broken roof tiles into magnificent shards of precious rubies, their beauty outshined only by the pure crimson brilliance of the lone man's eyes. 

Hayate tilted his head up slightly, allowing a small smile to creep over his face. The gentle evening breeze blew over him, rustling the strands of raven black hair that fell across his face in uneven bangs. About him, crows fluttered around casually, pecking contentedly at the seeds he had thrown out for them and occassionally letting out a hoarse caw. He closed his eyes. 

It was good to be alone. 

His moment of peace and quiet ended very abruptly when someone exhaled a huge cloud of smoke right in his face, at the same time conveniently scattering the crows sharing the rooftop into taking off in fright. 

Shiranui Genma grinned unrepentantly as he waited patiently for the other man's coughing attack to cease. 

Hayate paused long enough to spare his companion a glare before coughing again. 

A few of the bolder birds flew back, two of them landing on Hayate's shoulders and regarding the blonde intruder with suspicion in their beady eyes. 

_Cough._ "Genma?" They had known each other long enough for the customary 'san' to be discarded. Not that Genma had ever used it, anyway. "I thought you would still be at the bar." 

Genma shrugged his shoulders royally. "The cute blonde wasn't there tonight," he said, as if that answered everything. 

When one was Genma, it did. 

Hayate coughed again, faintly, and closed his eyes once more. After a moment, he felt the other man settle down on the roof beside him. 

"Nice night tonight." Genma commented, stubbing out the cigarette on a roof tile. 

Hayate didn't answer. Nor did Genma need one. 

They sat there in companionable silence as the sun set completely and the moon began its ascent to reign over the night. 

The moon was nearly directly overhead when Genma finally broke the long-standing silence. "Sarutobi died today." 

"I know." 

"I guess he knew this would happen already before we even suspected anything." 

"Most likely." 

A pause. Genma looked up at the moon, his mind wondering back to similar nights before when he had sat here with Hayate on the roof, exactly like this, enjoying a peaceful repose. But things were different then. "...You can go back now, you know." 

"Yes." 

Genma sighed, chewing wistfully on the toothpick he had put in his mouth to replace the cigarette. "You have any idea what's going to happen next?" 

Hayate shook his head slightly. "No. Do you?" 

"No."

* * *

_A/N: _-san_: a prefix attached to the end of people's names for respect. Equivalent to the English "Mr.", "Ms.", "Miss", etc. For reference to the various Japanese used in this fic, consult the first chapter of my other Naruto fic entitled "I'M SO GLAD I DID MY LAUNDRY!" That should help, since I'm too lazy to copy it and put it here. _

Hayate is my favorite character. I don't know where this story is going, but I'm definitely going to continue it. Any suggestions for plotlines/conflicts/events? 

Oh and yes I claim artistic license for making Hayate's eyes red here in this fic. Just because I can_! And Genma is blonde BECAUSE HE IS A BLONDE, DAMMIT. :whistles innocently, despite the fact that she doens't know how to whistle: _

If you'd like to see the sfanart I've drawn of Hayate (along with several other Naruto characters), please go visit my Naruto website at   
h t t p / c h u w e i . d e v i a n t a r t . c o m   



	2. Flashbacks and Memories

_A/N: ....I updated. sits in shock   
By the way, these "" things will denote flashbacks. As if you couldn't figure that out on your own....but anyway.....just trying to do my job to prevent any possible confusion....(ignores fact that she is confused about the story herself )_

_..._

_ "Keep a low profile until the Tournament is over. Until then, go somewhere where you won't be seen." 

> "Yes, sir."

"A funeral will be staged in a few days. I understand that it will be hard on those close to you, but you will see them again in three weeks. Until then, you must be seen by no one and have contact with no one." 

> "I understand, sir." 
> 
> "That is good. Go now."

* * *

> ...In three weeks...
> 
> ...until the Tournament is over.... 
> 
> "I understand, sir."

_

Had he really? Of course he understood the logic behind it. _Make the enemy believe they're safe, and they might lose caution and reveal something important._

That had been their hope. 

> But now...

* * *

_   
He'd woken up in a small medical room with only the Hokage and Genma there beside him. He had already stopped breathing when his body had been discovered that morning at Kikyou Castle by two fellow Jounins, who had taken him to the medical center for the specialized medical ninjas there to perform an autopsy. _

Were they surprised when he'd suddenly started coughing up blood. 

All in all, the family jutsu he hadn't used since he'd served time in the Anbu squad had ended up saving him again. It had been very risky, and he was surprised that it worked at all...he could swear that he'd messed up one of the hand seals. At any rate, the Gekkou Genshi no Jutsu was always risky business, largely because it was a very complicated technique requiring intense concentration that could only be used during a near-death state, when one's mind and consciousness were already fading. In addition, it could only be used during moonlit nights. 

The sun and the moon gave off different energy waves. The sun's energy vibes were different and caused conflict with the type of chakra energy needed for the Genshi no Jutsu, so it couldn't be performed during the day. 

Performing Genshi no Jutsu halted one's entire body's functions; stopping cell production, energy production, brain functions, nerve systems, etc, so one remained in a state of suspended death that could last anywhere from two hours to two decades. However, Genshi no Jutsu weakened the body each time it was used, so each successive use carried with it greater risk of failing. Even when it succeeded, it left behind several side effects. 

> Such as a frail constitution. Cough.

He was lucky, though. The Genshi no jutsu had stopped him from losing too much blood and held him together long enough to be patched up by the skilled medical ninjas. And this time, only his cough had worsened because of the Jutsu, but he'd carried that with him long enough to be used to it by now. 

The two med-nins who'd treated him were under an oath of silence. The Hokage had already guessed who, when, where, and why he'd been attacked, and what he'd told the village leader between bouts of uncontrollable coughing had only confirmed what the old man had already proximated. 

Their hope had been to make it seem as if he'd really died, so that the enemy would think the Hokage still didn't know anything. Suspected something, definitely, but had nothing concrete. In the meanwhile, their own spies would be out gathering more information on whatever plot was hatching between Orochimaru and the suna-nins, and prevent anything from happening before the plot broke out and the countries were drawn into open conflict. 

> That had been their hope... 

* * *

> Now...

Now the Hokage had died. The village elders were scrambling about trying to find a suitable replacement. The Village of Hidden Leaf may be the most prominent ninja village in the world, but it couldn't survive without a leader. 

Genma was right when he said "Sarujiji probably knew that all this would happen even before you got your ass beat up by Baki, the sneaky old monkey." 

"By the way," Genma had added, "you don't have to worry about the Sand bastard. I took care of him for you." 

A slight smile stole across his lips at that. _"Took care of him", indeed._ Hayate had no wish to see whatever deserted state the Jounin from Sand was left in after Genma's ministrations. He was, however, more than a little irritated that he wasn't able to take on the Sand-nin himself. He'd underestimated his opponent, and was glad that he'd lived through it to learn not to repeat that same mistake again. 

> For now, though...

Genma had been right about another thing. It was time to go back.

* * *

_  
A/N: I have no idea whether Genma actually fought and won against Baki or ot. He was having a stare contest with Baki before he told Sasuke to go after Gaara. Then the manga started focusing on Kakashi (which isn't all that bad, anyway :P) telling Sakura to get Naruto and Shikamaru and stop Sasuke, and then it returned with Gai, Kakashi and Genma in a faceoff with Baki and Kabuto. It was apparent that they were going to fight but it was never elaborated (that is, I didn't get to read any further than that.) _

"Sarujiji"_ is a combination of the Japanese word monkey _"saru" _and the impolite Japanese word for grampa or old man _"jiji"_. It just seemed like something Genma would call the Hokage...he seems like the crass, cocky type to me ==;;; _

Genshi_ means seomthing close to "fake death" or "illusionary death" (closer to the latter.) I made this jutsu up. It's not part of the official Naruto manga or the anime. _

But I can still bash Baki XDDDDDDDDDDDDD DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE YOU STUPID SAND-NIN!!!! (rapidly stabs an already-mangled Baki plush doll with a pin)


	3. Under the Pretense of Normality

_A/N: Ohohoho, don't worry. I am not killing off this fic, I will continue it all the way until it ends which is I don't know when. Long pauses between chapters just means that I am spending time thinking and revising, which (hopefully) means the quality of each chapter will be better. Hope you guys won't mind the wait...since I _do_ have another Naruto fic that I started before this that should be my priority...._ But the next chapter's gonna be a long one...>.  
  
  
  
  
  
  


A blonde head bobbed beneath a large wooden bookcase under the "Adult" section, in rhythm to the steady flipping of pages every few seconds or so. 

After a few minutes, Genma slammed the book shut and, dangling it carelessly between two fingers, eyed the red-orange cover of the slender paperback copy of _Icha Icha Paradise_ in his hands. "Che. I wonder what Kakashi sees in this book," he wondered aloud. 

The book was a total bore, full of sappy romances and cliches and steamy love scenes, though it did contain some rather suggestive and explicit illustrations; in other words, soft porn. Not to Genma's taste at all, which came as a surprise to many of his friends and colleagues. 

Genma didn't really care; his philosophy was "Why just look at candy when you can eat it?" 

He put the book back onto the shelf and headed for the exit. People threw him disapproving looks as he emerged from the Adult section, but he ignored them and threw a cocky grin at a female in "Romance", who blushed while pretending to be insulted. 

_Ahh. Females. They're all the same. They all want me but they refuse to admit it._

Giving the cute girl a last playful wink, Genma stepped out of the bookstore and onto the streets. 

On the streets, people milled about aimlessly, their idle uncertainty tainting the air with a sense of listlessness that irritated him to no end. What the hell were the village elders doing? 

Sure, they lost their village leader and Genma missed the old Sarutobi gorilla as well, but enough was enough. The village had been attacked and everyone knew it, yet there was an affected peace in the air as everyone went about their daily lives under the pretense that nothing notable had ever happened. 

It was as if there was some unanimous tacit conspiracy that he didn't know about. 

Years of training as a Ninja had sharpened his senses, and he could read the emotions of a normal person as easily as a book. It was obvious to him that the villagers were all nervous. Every person he'd seen so far was worried or jittery in some way. 

So why wasn't anything being done? 

There should be military conferences, public warnings, civilian training, something, _anything_, to get the village prepared for an imminent invasion. 

That the Hidden Village of Leaf would be invaded he had no doubt. Orochimaru's ambition was far to great to have lain low for so long just to interrupt a Chuunin Exam and leave. That the legendary crimminal had targeted the Hokage and killed Sarutobi only cemented that prediction. 

Orochimaru had intended to take over the village that day, that much was clear. That he became seriously wounded and failed only meant that the invasion date was postponed... 

_The next invasion will be bigger. And better. And much, much more dangerous. If by that time we're not yet prepared, what happens then?_

An invasion. There hadn't been one on Leaf since as far as he could remember; Konoha _couldn't_ be taken over. It just couldn't. He would be there to stop it. 

But despite his convictions of the strength of Fire Country ninjas, somewhere deep down in the depths of his mind, he was terrified. 

His good spirit earlier vanished in an instant, and he refused to heed a nagging voice that kept bothering him from the back of his mind. 

_What if Orochimaru doesn't want to take over the village but....to utterly destroy it?_

Shining in satirical innocence on the village, the bright sun jeered at him from the clear, cloudless blue sky. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

_A/N: I hate Baki.   
The contents of IchaPara was inferred from an interview with Kishomoto-sama, I don't know what's really in the IchaIcha series, it's just my guess. Disagreements with my inference shall be ignored, unless you have solid evidence to the contrary. Genma's vulgarness and womanizer/player personality is also entirely based on my own inference from the manga. He seems like that type to me. XD Like Reno of the Turks from FFVII, though I don't like Reno but I do like Genma.   
I will go cry over ep. 54. _


	4. Just One of Those Days

_A/N: Yes! I'm alive! Another from Gennie's P.O.V.! Watch out for language because Genma is naughty with words._

* * *

_All around me are familiar faces   
Worn out places - worn out faces  
Bright and early for their daily races  
Going nowhere - going nowhere_

Mad World---Gary Jules_

* * *

_Genma slammed another bottle down on the rough wooden table, causing the liquid inside it to slosh around wildly. Some of it spilled, but he didn't care. 

Taking another swig, he winced at the bitter aftertaste and felt the sake trace a flaming path down his throat. The burning sensation went all the way to his stomach, where a mini-whirlpool of fire raged inside. He suspected that the only thing that was preventing it all from going back up where it came from was that he kept forcing more down at the same time. 

He set the sake bottle back on the tabletop with much more force than was needed, making another crack in the already badly-cracked and splintered surface of the table. He ignored that. Someone jostled into him from behind and cursed loudly, but he ignored that too. 

Tonight was just one of those nights, when he was sick of the world, sick with himself, sick of everything. Just another one of those nights that he took the cowardly course and chose to escape from all his frustrations through the simple means of getting so damn drunk that he forgot all about them, and the _Firedancer_ was the best place to do it. 

Shit, he never thought of himself as some hero. Hell no. He'd taken this way out numerous times before, and he'd do so again. He wasn't proud of all the times he'd tried to drink his problems away, but he didn't stop, either. 

The bottle was almost touching his lips again when he felt a soft pressure on his arm. He looked up. 

"Hey," the saucy barmaid greeted flirtatiously, though there was a hint of concern in her eyes. "Haven't seen you around lately." 

Genma shook off her hand with a barely-concealed growl. He wasnt in the mood for this. Not now. Any other time, he would have been thrilled to have this cheeky young blonde hit on him, but tonight, he felt only irritation. 

"Don't be like that," the girl said, biting her bottom lip in what she probably thought was a cute manner. "I knew you were checking me out a couple of nights ago. I was wondering why you didn't drop by yesterday." 

He shrugged in reply. 

"I went home early yesterday, you know," 

He bit down on his own mouth in order to refrain himself from making a scathing comment. 

"--in case you dropped by and didn't see me." 

_Leave me alone leave me alone leave me alone leave me alone_. He repeated it over and over in his mind while continuing to meet her entreaties with silence, hoping that she would get the hint and leave. 

If she got the hint, though, she didn't take it. Instead, she sidled up to him and put her cheek against his shoulder. 

Genma closed his eyes, willing his temper not to break, and started counting silently to ten. _One_. 

"Why won't you answer me?" 

_Two._

"You can talk to me, you know. I'll listen." 

_Three._

"...But it's okay if you don't want to talk." 

_Four._

"You're so tense..." She started tracing a finger across his shoulderblades. 

_Five._

She lowered her voice an octave. "I could help you relax." 

_Six. How old is this girl, anyway?_ He wondered idly. 

"Why don't you come to my place?" she continued in a suggestive tone. 

_Seven. "Old enough,"_ another part of him answered. 

"Come on. It'll be fun..." 

_Eight. _

"If you want more drinks, I have some there." 

_Nine._

"C'mon...What do you say?" 

..._Ten!_

He stood up so suddenly that his chair toppled over. Tossing a few bills carelessly onto the table, he turned to leave. The barmaid hastily stood up as well, and he would have brushed past her without a word if he hadn't accidentally caught the look on her face. 

Despite all the suggestive comments earlier, her face held such a vulnerable expression it nearly made him wince. He hadn't really been looking at her at all, and now that he was, he remembered why she had caught his attention in the first place. Those big doll-like blue eyes set into that sweet, youthful--even innocent--face...not to mention that great body... 

He felt his resolve slipping away. The alcohol wasn't doing it's job--_Or is it? Am I still sober or does she only look this good because I just wasted about a quarter of this month's fuckin' salary on some of the strongest shit in the damn place?_--He could do with another distraction--_Maybe I should take her up on offer_--No, he already told himself that he wasn't in the mood-- 

But she was looking at him so expectantly, and her wide blue eyes held so much promise...

* * *

Very slowly, each second stretching into eternity, she forced open her eyes-- 

...and immediately wished she hadn't. 

She didn't even had the strength to gasp as all her senses returned in a violent flood of sensation; she could now acutely feel every bruise, every scrape and stratch, every bump and cut and burn, while the scorching sun beat mercilessly upon her brow. The heat was unbearable, and she could feel what little strength she had regained begin to sap away under the sun's unrelenting rays. 

Her mouth was dry. She worked up some saliva and spat. Her spittle was tinged with red and some yellowish stuff she recognized to be congealed blood. Tentatively, she ran her tongue over her lower lip and found a cut there. She tried moving her fingers, but they weren't responding very well. After a few more tries, she gave up. Too tired to do anything else, she lay there, panting, her breath coming out in ragged gasps. She must have been hit somewhere near her ribcage before she fell unconcious. She tried to remember what she was doing before she blacked out, but couldn't recall much other than a faint image of a large two-headed snake headed her way... 

_Pat. Pat. Pat._

She froze. 

--_Pat. Pat. Pat. _

Someone was coming. 

_Pat. Pat. _

The footsteps drew nearer. They were so soft that she doubted she would have heard them if she hadn't happened to lose conscience with her ear plastered right against the ground. 

_I cannot be found. Not here...not like this..._

Her eyelids suddenly seemed so heavy. She struggled to keep them open, but it was a losing battle. The scene before her blurred...vague shapes floated around...the grass seemed to grow out of the sky. Trees bended in bizarre forms...a pair of black boots suddenly loomed out of nowehere, peeking out underneath the edge of a red-patterned black cloak...the pattern seemed change and undulate with each second. 

The last thing she heard before she slipped back into darkness was a voice, cold, steady, and calculating. 

_"Wait. This one could be useful..."_

* * *

_A/N: Oh gawd. I'm updating again. shock  
As usual, all reviews will be extremely helpful. I know there's gotta be a handful of problems in this one...I felt like I was drunk myself while I was writing this. _

Sake_ - Japanese Rice wine. _


	5. My Friend, Do I Know You?

_A/N: Still from Gennie's P.O.V. He's become rather addicting to write about. Starting at this point, the plot--(what plot!)--will beign to deviate from the original Naruto storyline ToT I'm sorry.   
__

* * *

Their tears are filling up their glasses  
No expression - no expression  
Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow  
No tomorrow - no tomorrow _

Mad World---Gary Jules

* * *

Cigarettes littered the floor. 

Another one joined its spent comrades, spitting out a lask spark of life before being brutally crushed by an indifferent boot. Asuma's. 

_At the rate he's going, he'll die of lung cancer before we can find out anything for sure,_ Genma thought tiredly. 

The news had came as a shock to all of them. 

Asuma paced heavily around the room, his hulking figure more intimidating than normal. His massive shoulders were haunched in agitation as he circled the small conference room, puffs of smoke billowing out of his mouth at regular intervals. 

_Step. Step. Step--Puff. Step. Step._ Turn--_Puff. Step. Step. Step--Puff. Step. Step._ Turn--_Puff._

Genma took it all in with a wary eye, ready to spring to action in case Asuma decided to do something rash, or foolish, or both. 

The room seemed lonelier than ever, with only the sound of Asuma's heavy strides reverberating in his ears. 

_Step. Step. Step--Puff. Step. Step._ Turn--_Puff. Step. Step. Step--Puff. Step. Step._ Turn--_Puff._

Anko was off in another room, loosing hell over Hayate and Aoba, who were "supervising" her, much like what Genma was doing with Asuma right now. The female special jounin's frusration over Kurenai's disappearance could be heard clearly over the distance of the two rooms that seperated them; she was angry, very angry--and very, _very_ vocal about her discontent. Genma could hear her shouts, punctuated by a series of loud thumps and crashes, and followed by something that sounded suspiciously like glass breaking. Hayate and Aoba were going to have a hell of a time trying to calm her down. 

_Step Step. Step--Puff. Step, step... _

Genma didn't envy their position. He wouldn't want to be in _their_ shoes right now, that's for sure. 

_Step. Step._ Turn--_Puff. Step, step..._

_On second thought... _

Asuma's agitated pacing wasn't much better. Back and forth, back and forth he paced, like some kind of wild animal getting ready to strike.

It was getting on Genma's nerves. He almost wished that Asuma would start screaming and terrorizing like Anko, that he would say something, anything. Anything at all, other than pacing around like this. 

_Step. Step. Step--Puff. Step. Step._ Turn--_Puff. Step. Step. Step--Puff. Step. Step._ Turn--_Puff._

He couldn't stand it anymore. "Asuma. _Please._ Stop. Pacing." 

Asuma stopped, and stared at the blonde for a few unnerving moments. Genma warily returned the stare, knowing that this was a critical moment; that either Asuma would completely lose it at this point and attempt to beat him in a hopeless bloody pulp, or wilt into a despairing hopeless bloody pulp himself. 

It was the latter. 

The bear-like jounin sunk into a chair, burying his bearded face in his large hands. His whole posture screamed of weariness and defeat, and his shoulders sagged as if from carrying one too many burdens. It was an invisible burden, and one whose weight was not to be taken lightly.

--Grief. 

When Asuma finally broke the silence and spoke, his voice was filled with an overwhelming sense of despair that chilled Genma to the bone.

"What are we going to do?" he asked, voice cracking. 

"...I don't know." Genma answered. And he meant it. 

Oh, he'd thought he'd already seen it all, that after the invasion by Sand, the reappearance of an S-ranked missing-nin, and the sudden and shocking death of the Third...that after all those events, there could be nothing more that could possibly surprise him. 

But the Asuma slumped on the couch before him was a completely different man. Genma had never seen this side of his friend before. For all he knew, he could have been sitting in front of a complete stranger. He wasn't even sure if he should call him "Asuma" anymore. The man before him was alien, foreign, unfamiliar. Genma didn't know what he was supposed to do, no more than he knew the name of he girl he'd slept with last night. 

At least, the bar he could avoid.

His friend, he couldn't. 

It was no secret that Asuma had been crushing on Kurenai forever. They could both deny it as much as they wanted, but the attraction between the two was unmistakable. That was why despite her obvious attractiveness, he had always excluded the pretty, red-eyed kunoichi from his womanizing endeavors. 

"Asuma..." Genma started. But what next? What could he possibly say? 

Nothing. 

It was an unspoken rule that if a ninja got lost on a mission, they were as good as dead. As a ninja, failure meant death. There were no in-betweens; no compromises. If you failed to return from a mission, you were either dead, or dying. 

There were no exceptions to that rule. 

Silence had descended onto the room again. Asuma remained immobile, his features hidden in shadow. 

Two rooms away, the sound of hysterical wailing reached their ears. 

Genma suspected that his prescence was the only thing preventing Asuma from breaking down right now. Despite himself, he was secretly glad. If his friend started crying, Genma would be even more at a loss of what to do. There was just too much happening right now, and no time at all to try to sort everything into some kind of sense. 

They remained frozen in silence as time lasped by, until a knock on the door made them both raise their heads. A cough outside informed them of who it was. 

Hayate stepped in, his eyebags looking much worse than usual. "Anko's calmed down some, and Aoba's escorting her back home," he said, sounding even more tired than he looked--if that was possible. "The village elders are organizing another meeting tomorrow morning. Every jounin in the village must attend." 

Genma nodded. 

Hayate hesitated a bit, looking like he was going to say something but then decided against it. Instead, he bowed slightly to Asuma and left, closing the door gently behind him. 

As the door closed shut with a soft click, Genma felt a door closing inside him as well.

_

* * *

:Footnotes:   
_The Third_--Sandaime, i.e. Sarutobi, the 3rd Hokage of Konoha Village._

_A/N: The possible Asuma/Kurenai relationship is an inference from the manga, but is not explicitly stated in the book.  
Aoba might actually be a Chuunin instead of a Jounin as I'd surmised here, so I'll try to research on that. I am as fallible as any one of you, so if you find any other inconsistencies/spellinggrammar errors/factual errors and would kindly point it out in a review or email, I'd be much obliged. _


End file.
